Socio-ecological changes on the Loess Plateau of China after Grain to Green Program

Wu, Xutong; Wang, Shuai; Fu, Bojie; Feng, Xiaoming; Chen, Yongzhe

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.022

Cited by 176 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…NDVI showed a significant greening trend after GfG in the Loess Plateau (Wu, Wang, Fu, Feng, & Chen, ). At pixel scale, annual NDVI of most areas showed a significant increasing trend, indicating vegetation did not degenerate after GfG (Wu et al, ); thus, run‐off may be further reduced in the future based on the current situation. From a hydrological perspective, we suggest that caution regarding continued implementation of GfG and natural restoration may be better for regional sustainability development.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Run‐off affected by climate and anthropogenic changes in a large semi‐arid river basin

Yang

Sun

et al. 2020

Hydrological Processes

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A rapid reduction in run-off has been observed in the middle reaches of the Yellow River basin in recent decades. Understanding the contributions of climate change and human activities, such as vegetation restoration and water consumption, to surface water resource reduction has become urgent and very important for future regional planning. Here, we use attribution approaches to explore the effects of climate change and human activities on run-off over the past six decades. The results showed that the observed annual run-off at Tongguan station, which is located within the mainstream of the Yellow River, exhibited a significant decreasing trend of −0.69 mm year −1 (p < .01) and varied from −0.28 to −1.46 mm year −1 (p < .01) in the eight selected tributaries from 1960 to 2015. Two relatively abrupt changes in the double mass curves occurred around 1979 and 1999; compared with Period 1 (P1; 1960-1979), the average catchment run-off decreased 32% during Period 2 (P2 ; 1980-1999) and up to 49% during Period 3 (P3;. We calculated that approximately 29% of the reduction in the run-off during P2 and 18% during P3 were attributed to climate change. Increased surface water consumption resulted in effective run-off reduction, with relative contributions of approximately 27% and 28% during P2 and P3, respectively. With the implementation of the "Grain-for-Green" project, the vegetation coverage rapidly increased from 36% in P1 to 52% in P3 and reduced run-off by 35% during P3. These findings explain the run-off reduction and benefit water resource management in the middle reaches of the Yellow River basin.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Run‐off affected by climate and anthropogenic changes in a large semi‐arid river basin

Yang

Sun

et al. 2020

Hydrological Processes

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“…For a long time, due to natural factors, such as rainfall and landforms, and human activities, the Loess Plateau has become one of the most severely affected areas of soil erosion in the world. In the case of the loess hilly and gully region, owing to unreasonable land use and low vegetation coverage, the soil loss amounted to 5000-10,000 kg/km 2 /year [1][2][3], resulting in deterioration of the ecological environment. Large-scale reclamation of sloping farmland is considered to be one of the main causes of soil erosion and environmental degradation [4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of China’s Grain for Green Program on Rural Economy and Precipitation: A Case Study of Yan River Basin in the Loess Plateau

2019

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Large-scale deforestation and abandoned planting will bring about the destruction of the ecological environment and the deterioration of the climate. In 1999, China initiated its “Grain for Green” Program (GGP) to improve the ecological environment, control soil erosion, and adjust the agricultural industrial structure to promote the sustainable development of the rural economy. In this paper, economic statistics, rainfall, and remote sensing data are used to analyze the impact of the GGP on agricultural and rural economic development and regional precipitation in the hilly and gully regions of the Loess Plateau. The results show that since the implementation of the program, the employment structure of the labor force has changed and the regional economic growth and farmers’ income have increased. From 2000 to 2016, the total gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita GDP of the Yan River Basin increased. The conversion of large-scale sloping farmland to forestry and grassland resulted in the decrease of farmland area and the increase of forestry area. The maximum, minimum, and mean value of vegetation coverage increased year by year. With the increase of vegetation coverage, the surface roughness, soil water content, and evapotranspiration improved and annual average precipitation grew significantly after the implementation of the program (2000 to 2018). From 1970 to the implementation of the project (1999), the annual average rainfall decreased at the trough from 1988 to 1999, and there was an overall upward trend from 1970 to 2018. The GGP has an important impact on the economy and people’s income in the Yan River Basin, and the vegetation change caused by the variation of land use types has a certain impact on regional rainfall. Under the background of global and regional climate change, it is of great significance to fully understand the impacts of vegetation conversion on climate and its mechanism for objective assessment of driving factors in regional and global climate, as well as for scientific planning of future land use.

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“…Hence, appropriate capital compensation should be given to the farmers to maintain a reasonable standard of living [24]. Accordingly, for any environmental conservation projects, only if both the environment and economy are well improved can the projects be considered as well implemented and as engendering expected influences [25,26]. Many environmental conservation projects have been carried out in various countries around the world, but have failed to fulfill these criteria.…”

Section: Overall Commentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Effects of Desertification Control Projects from the Farmers’ Perspective: A Case Study of Yanchi County, Northern China

Wang

Zhou

Yang

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Desertification has inflicted severe damage on the natural environment and social economy for decades, particularly in the arid and semi-arid regions of northern China. In Yanchi County, a series of projects were implemented to combat desertification after 2000. To assess the effects of these Desertification Control Projects from the farmers’ perspective, we divided Yanchi County into two regions (the northern and southern regions) according to their different environmental conditions. We collected data including basic family information, farmers’ perceptions and attitudes, and farmers’ suggestions, in a questionnaire investigation following the Participatory Rural Appraisal approach. Data analysis using the Mann–Whitney U test and Fisher’s exact test revealed that the Desertification Control Projects were generally successful, as the local environment and farmers’ incomes were both improved. Farmers were all satisfied with the effects of the projects, but the farmers in the southern region had a higher acceptance of the projects than those in the northern region. In addition, three problems with the Desertification Control Projects were noted: the farmers had a low degree of participation in the projects, the farmer’s low incomes affected the sustainability of the projects, and the implementation of the complete grazing ban had several adverse effects. We provided suggestions for solving these problems. Our findings have important implications for assessing the effects of environmental conservation projects, especially from a participant’s perspective.

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Socio-ecological changes on the Loess Plateau of China after Grain to Green Program

Cited by 176 publications

References 44 publications

Run‐off affected by climate and anthropogenic changes in a large semi‐arid river basin

Run‐off affected by climate and anthropogenic changes in a large semi‐arid river basin

The Impact of China’s Grain for Green Program on Rural Economy and Precipitation: A Case Study of Yan River Basin in the Loess Plateau

Assessing the Effects of Desertification Control Projects from the Farmers’ Perspective: A Case Study of Yanchi County, Northern China

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